Hello APJ, Welcome to our small scale collaboration project. Old Herbaceous (OH) of Serenity Now Scents and Sensibilities and I will be doing a monthly post on different perfume notes. We are not perfumers but aficionados of fragrance. So lots of our information will come with links for further reading or text references. We are learning as you are learning, or refreshing.

Anise: Notes on Notes

YAY! Old Herbaceous picked Anise for us today from a list that I liked the idea of.

What is Anise?

Did you know Anise and Star Anise come from totally different plants? This was a revelation to me. I’d never done the digging before and used the names and spices interchangeably.

From Masterclass: Anise seed and star anise come from two entirely different plants with origins in different parts of the world. Both do have similar flavor profiles because they share the essential oil anethole, though star anise is considered more bitter and herbaceous. Anise seeds are smaller dried schizocarp seeds that are about an eighth- to a quarter-inch long, whereas star anise is preserved as a whole dried pericarp that is about an inch long.

From Wikipedia (edited): Pimpinella anisum, also called aniseed or rarely anix is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to the eastern Mediterranean region and Southwest Asia ]Anise is a herbaceous annual plant growing to 60+cm (2–3 feet). The leaves at the base of the plant are simple, long and shallowly lobed, while leaves higher on the stems are feathery or lacy, pinnate, divided into numerous small leaflets. Both leaves and flowers are produced in large, loose clusters. The flowers are either white or yellow, approximately 3mm (1⁄8 in) in diameter, produced in dense umbels. The fruit is a dry oblong and curved schizocarp, 4–6mm (1⁄6–1⁄4 in) long, usually called “aniseed”

How does Anise smell? 

It’s easier to talk about how anise tastes. The scent profile is directly related.

Licorice! Well, anethole is the organic compound. It’s also found in Star Anise, Fennel, Tarragon and other plants. It’s the thing in Ouzo that makes it turn white when you add water. It’s a clear, fragrant, mildly volatile liquid.

How is Anise used in perfumery? 

Anise is most often used as a bit part player in amongst the stars to give a bite, depth, to round out a fragrance or add something surprising. Mostly used in sweet perfumes bit also in woody and oud scents. It is a part of things as disparate as Brut and Yvresse, Tuscany per Uomo and La Panthere.

 

In which perfumes will you find Anise?

Lolita Lempicka Au Masculine

Greenery, licorice, nutty nougat and a little booze sprinkled with sweet confectionary that skews bakery further in. While not exactly the same as the original Lolita Lempicka EdP it is pretty bloody close. It’s not really licorice, or even black jelly babies, but it does have a kick of it, a tickle, a pinch. Funnily, having written that I went back in for a deep huff and it is licorice. A sweet, candy style licorice like licorice all sorts, YUM!

Rochas Byzance

Byzance has anise but it’s only a bit player. The big deal in open here is spicy carnation and some sparkling citruses. Most of the greenery and flowers pass me by, or rather are too well incorporated to be shining stars, but when I really go looking for aniseed I get far off hints of that licorice twang (maybe I’ve been suggestion smelling it). Then as we dry down Byzance becomes a dry powdery amber with creamy sandalwood.

Please go check out Serenity Now Scents and Sensibilities and see what OH has to add to the Notes on Notes about Anise.

What are your favourite fragrances with Anise listed in the notes?
Portia xx